Him se yldesta andswarode; werodes wisa, wordhord onleac.
"That noblest of men answered him; the leader of the warrior band unlocked his wordhoard."

Friday, September 05, 2008

Learn Old English with the Wordhoard: More Pronouns

After several requests, I've decided to give supplemental podcasting a try. Below you'll see the video supplemental introducing next week's lesson. It was made with speed and convenience in mind, so the production quality is pretty low -- just my web cam with no editing. I'm hoping to get lots of good feedback so that after all is said and done, we can archive well-scripted high-quality videos on the MediEvolution site. Comments (even negative feedback) are welcome.

I decided to start it here because there isn't really all that much to explain. Right now, students should be memorizing those pronoun paradigms. All we did in class this Thursday was drill on those. Yes, it's tedious (and the single most boring part of learning OE), but I'm afraid it's necessary. If it makes you feel any better, sometimes I forget parts of these paradigms myself; teaching them helps me remember what's been caught in the cobwebs of my memory.

Don't forget to do the "First and Second Person Pronouns" sheet -- it will help you learn these. Try doing all those other exercises in the Pronouns section. It might feel kind of elementary-school to do worksheets, but they'll help you learn all this essential stuff.

Here's your vocabulary quiz for this week. As always, just highlight the selection to see the answers:

Read this hidden note after you test: Hey, did you notice I basically took those last four from one of your pronoun paradigms? Of course you did! You're so smart!

For next time, read the Nouns chapters of Baker and Drout (Strong Nouns, Weak Nouns, and Minor Declensions), and focus on learning those paradigms Baker has (Drout's are just as good, but your vocab lists are keyed to Baker's paradigms).

Here is the Nouns III vocabulary list. You'll find most of these words pretty easy once you say them aloud: